Cultural Health Capital, Attitudes Toward End-of-Life, and Subjective Well-Being in Taiwan: The Role of Education
<b>Objectives:</b> This study examines health literacy and EOL pro-individualism as cultural health capital, their associations with EOL discussion and subjective well-being (SWB), and the moderating role of education. <b>Methods:</b> Using data from the 2017 Taichung Survey (<i>N</i> = 645) and the 2021 Taiwan Social Change Survey (<i>N</i> = 631), analyses combined logistic and OLS regressions with SEM for mediation testing, and evaluated the moderation by comparing across educational groups. <b>Results:</b> The results show that health literacy relates to higher happiness among the higher-educated and greater life satisfaction overall, whereas EOL pro-individualism relates to lower outcomes. Only formal EOL discussions show a positive link with happiness. Education moderates all associations with happiness. <b>Discussion:</b> Findings indicate that cultural health capital plays a dual role and underscore the relevance of formal EOL discussions. Policies could prioritize strengthening health literacy and promoting formal discussions while addressing cultural tensions between autonomy and family obligations.
Authors
- Shao-Ming Hung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7905-5150)
- Ruey-Ming Tsay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7449-1717)
- Li-Hsueh Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9333-7908)
- Wei Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6623-573X)
Institutions
- Fu Jen Catholic University (TW)
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
- Tunghai University (TW)
- National Taipei University of Education (TW)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Research on Aging
- Published
- 2025-12-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275251407644
- Primary Topic
- Health disparities and outcomes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00